Those Eyes
by Remember Cedric Diggory
Summary: Lily just wants to break free from normality and show people that she's her own person. Will that boy she met be able to help her, or will he do whatever he can to impede her?


**Those Eyes**

Chapter One: Nice Fellow

By RememberCedricDiggory

She was so scared of being alone.

Yet, at that moment, that's exactly what she was. In the middle of this giant group of people, yet... Well she felt like there was no one that noticed her, nobody who would even acknowledge her existence. But then – why should they? She was just a tiny young girl in this sea which constantly moved and flowed with the changing tide of the shoppers around her. Why should they pay attention to a lost little girl, especially when she herself knew that she wasn't anything special?

Lily Evans was just a normal eleven year old girl (well, if one could call a witch 'normal'). She was not of any important wizarding family – in fact, both of her parents had no magical abilities whatsoever. Even her flaming red hair was nothing remarkable, because in Diagon Alley, of course, you saw the strangest hair one could possibly imagine. But the one thing Lily Evans had going for her, the one unique aspect of herself that no one could ever take away were her eyes. Those stunning, bright as the deep sea, glimmering, green eyes. No one who had ever seen Lily could forget those eyes. They seemed to hypnotize strangers passing by with their radiant shimmer. Yes, truly those eyes were Lily's. More striking still were the emotions expressed through those eyes. It seemed Lily could never hide her true feelings, for her disappointment and her happiness both were immediately recognizable in her eyes.

But the emotion pulsating from Lily's eyes at the moment was fear. She was lost in this gyrating sea of people, separated from everyone she knew. Perhaps, had she been born to a wizarding family, she would have been able to recognize someone – for the wizarding community of London couldn't be that big, could it? But as it was, she had no one. She'd been separated from her parents in the middle of her shopping for her school supplies here in Diagon Alley, and, oh, whatever was she going to do?

Finding a momentary gap in the throng of people, she slipped into an alleyway. The cold, damp, dirty alley wasn't much comfort, but at least it supplied her with a brief reprieve from all the hustle of people. After she had sat there for a while, the reality of the situation finally hit her. In the midst of all these mysterious people – (since wizards and witches were still truly a mystery to her) she was lost; she was alone. Doubling over and burying her head in her knees, Lily began to cry. Tears spilled out of those eyes in torrents, and she missed it as a young boy quietly walked up to her and stood next to her. Quietly giving her some time to release her sorrow, the young boy stood there. But, he grew impatient and laid his hand on her back. Startled, Lily looked up. Had someone really stopped and noticed the young, distraught girl crouching in an alley all by herself? The young boy looked at her, and, with the most caring face she had ever seen, spoke to her.

"What's wrong?"

Lily, who in her startled state had completely forgotten all her tears, looked up at him. "I seem to have lost my parents. You see, I'm not from around here, and I certainly am not used to any of this magical stuff. Neither of my parents are wizards and so we've all been simply amazed at all this magic. They must have wandered off in their excitement, and now I'm left here in the middle of a strange place, with no one who seems to even notice me."

The young boy looked at her, smiled, and, reaching down, pulled her to her feet. "We'll, we're going to have to change that, aren't we?"

He almost forcibly dragged her out of the alleyway, but once she loosened up, Lily acted as if she were in a dream. She peered at everything she passed with such a genuine look of interest the boy couldn't help but laugh. After they had strolled long enough, Lily forgot all about her anxieties. What a wonderful place it was!

While Lily was fascinated, the boy was keeping an eye out for her parents, who must have been out of their minds with worry. He spotted two likely people frantically waving their arms at poor Mr. Ollivander, who, judging by the look on his face, clearly had not seen such an eleven year old girl. Gently tapping Lily on the shoulder he pointed towards the couple. With a grin from ear to ear and those bright eyes shimmering, she ran up to her parents, hugging them with all her might (she was very strong for being so young-must have been the magic). The boy just stood back, watching, swimming from happiness at the reunion to regret at losing his companion.

Suddenly, Lily turned back. "I never learned your name!"

Smiling, the boy said "James Potter" as he turned around and walked away. He never asked her name, but he knew he'd never forget those eyes.

Terribly nervous and excited at the same time, Lily Evans walked towards the stool where the old hat sat. She hoped…-

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.

Amidst the cheers, she sat down. She wasn't sure if the cheers were for her, or simply for a new addition to the Gryffindor House, but she didn't care. Finally she was part of something. She belonged somewhere.

Watching the rest of the people get sorted, she instantly recognized the young boy who had helped her that day in Diagon Alley. She hoped that he would be placed in Gryffindor with her; he was such a nice boy…

With an exclamation of "GRYFFINDOR!" and a mess of whistles and cheers from her table, her hope had been realized. And now all she had to do was introduce herself, since he'd been rather strange when he'd walked off, and had never bothered to ask _her_ name. Just a mistake, she was sure. She'd get that cleared up quickly – and maybe she'd have her first friend at Hogwarts!

Not long after the first years had been shown to their rooms by the Gryffindor prefects, Lily went up to James. He was sitting with three other boys: one handsome, one a little chubby, and one who looked like he could be ill at any moment. In a slightly all-knowing tone she said, "I'm sure you remember me from that day in Diagon Alley. You never asked my name but since we're in the same house, I'm sure we'll get to know each other very well, and I might as well start out with my name. I'm Lily Evans, very glad to meet you," sticking out her hand. James just looked at it incredulously. He turned to his friends and said

"This boys, is that fair damsel I rescued from the terrible danger in Diagon Alley. Imagine, being a young girl, stranded from her parents in such a _scary_ place. Could you stand it? Wouldn't you just _burst_ into tears?" James then turned to the boys expectantly, and gave them a look which plainly said 'laugh or else.'

The other three boys snickered. They knew James was picking on her, but really, it was funny. Lily looked at each of the boys in turn, searching each one for some hint of compassion. Seeing none, she turned away and walked off. James called after her "Don't cry too hard - you'll have a hard time finding another fellow as kind as me who will help you this time."

And yet, through all his teasing, his thoughts never left those beautiful green eyes.

A/N: Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I hope you like it. As always, thanks to my wonderful beta funnykido - I couldn't ever do it without you. New chapter should be up soon… well, that is, once I figure out where I'm taking this. I'm pretty sure this will be really light-hearted, since, well, I'm not in the mood for any angst. Oh, and by the way… It'd be awful nice if you would **review** and give me any comments/questions/concerns/criticism/suggestions you might have. I always appreciate them.


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